A Lasting Love
by MsKRyan.ox
Summary: [Threquel to Good Things Come From the Bad] Can good really come from the bad when your grief makes it too hard to even want to continue on without the one you thought you were meant to love forever? ON HIATUS
1. Sinking in Grief

I: Sinking in Grief

" _No one told me that grief felt so like fear…"_

* * *

As Sam looked up at the familiar New York Brownstone, a million and one thoughts ran through his head of perfectly, quaffed blonde hair. He had no idea what to say to Katie, he had absolutely no idea what to he was going to say her. What does one say to their grieving best friend when the man she had considered to be the love of her life, her high school sweetheart was dead? What do you say when you had been the one beside him when he had passed? Once again, Sam looked up at the New York brownstone, a frown on his face as he tried to think about what he could possibly say to her, to the grieving wife of Noah Puckerman, to his best friend in the entire world, to the one and only Kate Hudson-Puckerman.

Picking up the calla lilies off of his dashboard, Sam stepped out of his car, locking it behind him and as he made his way towards the large wooden front door. The sound of his heart pounding in his ears grew louder with each step that he took. He still had no idea what he was going to say to her, never mind what he was going to say to the boy he thought of as a nephew.

"Uncle Sam," the small boy called as soon as he opened the door before Sam could even get the chance to knock on it. Sam paused and let the brown haired little boy run to him as fast as his feet could carry. The moment that young Finn rain into his uncle's arms, he clutched at his late father's band member. Sam could feel tears slowly coming to his eyes as he picked up his pseudo nephew and carried him into the house away from any prying eyes.

News of the American Music Award winning band Gleek's front man Noah Puckerman's sudden death had spread like a wildfire and it was a miracle that the street wasn't filled with paparazzi at this time of morning. The funeral was set to take place in a couple of days and he would have thought that the rats with cameras would have been camped out on the front lawn. Sam thought that it was even a miracle that he was able to park where he was because for the past couple of days, a new crew had been parked there waiting for a glimpse of Kate or Finn.

Upon stepping into the house, Sam noticed something and was immediately on edge. The Puckerman house was quiet. It was almost never quiet. Music was almost always playing from the studio that had been built down the hall, be it either from Puck or from Kate, and if music wasn`t coming from the studio it was always playing from somewhere else in the house. The Puckerman Home was never quiet.

"Finn, where's your mom," Sam asked, setting the boy back on his feet as he closed the front door behind him, "You know you're not supposed to open the door without an adult around…"

"She's upstairs," the young boy explained, having the slight decency to look a little bit ashamed, "She hasn't come from out of her room since those police men came to tell her something about Daddy that made her really sad and cry. Where is Daddy, uncle Sam? Why hasn't he come home yet? Mommy's always sad when he's not home." Sam looked at the little boy in horror. Had no one told him yet that his father was never coming home again? Had no one told him that his father had been killed in a car accident much like the uncle he was named after?

"Finn-"

"Buddy, we talked about this," came the familiar voice of Kate's step-father and former Ohio Congressman, Burt, "Your Dad, he, uh, he's not going to be coming home. He, uh, he's gone to be with your uncle Finn and-"

"But, he has to come," Finn cried, looking at his grandfather with tears welling in his big brown eyes that were so similar to his mother's, "He has to come home, G'mpa, he has to come back. He promised. He promised that he would take Mommy and I on a trip to the house in Nantucket this summer. We can't go if he doesn't come home."

"Of course, you can go buddy," Burt tried again, pulling his step-grandson into his arms, "Your Mom will take you if that's where you-"

"No," Finn practically screamed, struggling in the older man's arms, "It's not the same without Daddy. We can't go if he's not there. If he's not there, Mommy will continue to be sad and he needs to come and make her feel better. No one makes her smile like Daddy does." It was then that Finn finally broke down into tears, burying his head into his grandfather's shoulder. Burt looked up at Sam and nodded his greeting before indicating for Sam to just go ahead up the stairs, he would know where to find her.

As Sam climbed the narrow staircase of the Puckerman Home, his mind once again turned to what he would tell her. He wasn't exactly sure what shape he would find Kate in. Sam knew that Finn had mentioned that Kate hadn't bothered coming out of her room since the cops had broken the news to her, but he could only imagine how she would react to seeing him. Would she be angry; he was the one that Noah had spent his final moments with. Would she be happier; he had been the one to offer her a certain comfort that Noah couldn't after her brother had died all those years ago. Or would she just be indifferent?

"Kate Hudson-Puckerman, you need to your butt out of that bed," Sam heard Kate's mother-in-law call from her spot in the hall in front of the master suite bedroom, "You have a son that needs to be taken care of and-"

"Leave me alone, Anita," Kate called back, Sam could practically hear her choking back a sob, "Just leave me alone!"

"Kate, you listen to me and you listen to me now," the older woman called, the stress she was feeling becoming more and more evident on her face, "You cannot wallow in self-pity, my Noah wouldn't want you to wallow in your grief. He would want you to be there for Finn, he would-"

"Anita, just leave me alone," Kate called back through the door, "I just want to be left alone."

"Young lady," Anita scolded, a scowl appearing on her face that sent a shiver down Sam's spine. He had been on the receiving end of that scowl and it never meant anything good.

"Your mother, step-father and I have let you wallow in your grief long enough," the older woman snapped, her hand reaching out to grasp the door handle, "I am coming in there and I'm going to drag you out of bed. You have my grandchild to take care of. You can't leave that little boy without-" Before Anita could finish her thought, Sam rushed forward and stood in front of her and the door. The last thing Kate needed right now was for Anita to put her on the defense. Noah and Finn were-are everything to Kate and the last thing that his best friend needed was her mother-in-law of all people questioning that.

"Let me talk to her, Anita," Sam interrupted, "She doesn't need you shouting at her right now."

"No, what she needs is a good kick in the ass," Anita told the young blonde standing in front of her, "Noah was my baby, I'm grieving too, but Kate, Kate-"

"Kate is trying to deal with her grief right now," Sam explained to the woman quietly, "She knows that she has Finn to take care of, but she also knows that you, Burt and Carol are here and besides her, you are the best people to take care of him right now. I'm sure if you weren't here, Kate would find a way to get out of bed. Now, please, go downstairs, spend time with your grandson and just let me talk to her." Anita looked like she wanted to say something to her late son's friend, but just shook her head.

"Okay, okay," the Jewish mother relented, though is seemed like it was against her nature to, "Just-just let her know that we want her to be okay. No-Noah's funeral is tomorrow and she-she didn't even make any of the arrangements. I-I did it all."

"And I'm sure, she is grateful for everything you've done," Sam assured her once more, "I'll see what kind of shape she's in and then, we'll take it from there. She, she just needs her time and I'm sure it'll be even harder once she sees Finn. He's the spitting image of Noah." Anita nodded in agreement. Sam was right, little Finn was the spitting image of her son and while they all knew that Kate loved her son to the moon and back ten-twenty times over, it might break the resolve she did have to get out of bed. Squeezing Sam's arm gently, Anita made her way towards the stairs.

"Katie," Sam called, as he gently knocked on the door once Anita was out of ear shot, "Katie, I know you want to be left alone, but-but I'm coming in, okay?" Sam waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he knew it was okay for him to enter the room. The moment the door was open even the slightest bit, Sam knew why she wanted to be left alone. It seemed that amidst her grief, Kate had trashed the entire room.

The sheets that had once sat pristinely on the bed were on the floor. Pictures of the couple that once littered the walls and the dresser were now face down on the floor. The little knick knacks Kate had collected over he life time had been smashed to smithereens. Drawers and been opened and left open. And Kate, she was sitting on the floor amongst the many pieces of jewelry and stuffed animals that Noah had gifted to her over their years together. She didn't look like she had slept since that fateful night.

"Katie," Sam sighed, placing the calla lilies on the arm chair that sat in the corner of the room by the door, "Katie, come on, come here."

"Nobody in this house understands," Kate responded not bothering to look at the blonde that was no standing beside, "I-I just want to be left alone. I just want to cry and grieve for my husband in peace. I want to be able to do this my way before I have to put on a brave face for my son tomorrow." Sam looked down at the brunette as she picked up a pearl necklace that had been an anniversary gift before she dropped it on the floor once more. Sam watched in silence as sobs slowly began to wrack her body. Bringing her hands up to her face, Kate tried to her best to muffle the cries of despair.

"He promised me, Sammy, he promised me forever. He gave me my grandmother's engagement ring and he promised me forever," she sobbed, practically shrinking in on herself as she did, hugging herself as tightly as she could, "And he's gone, just like that. Just like my Dad, just like Finn, he's gone and now, now I'm all by myself and oh God, Finn. He's never going to get to know what Finn'll be like. If he'll be anything like my brother or if he'll, he, he's just gone, Sammy, he's gone and I-I don't know what I'm going to do." The moment those final words left her mouth, Kate descended into more sobs, not even able to speak anymore.

Sam could feel tears streaming down his face as he watched the once strong woman that he knew turn into the weak one that sat in front of him now. He had no idea how to respond to what she was saying. He thought back to when Finn had passed and how Noah, who was going through his own grief at the time, had just been her pillar of strength. How he had been the one to make sure that she ate, that she slept, that she showered, that she socialised when it was needed the most and now as he stood in front of the crying woman, it was evident that none of that was happening now, that no matter how much the people downstairs tried, she wasn't letting anybody take care of her the same he did.

"When was the last time you ate something, Katie," Sam asked her softly as he kneeled down beside her, "When was the last time you slept or, or showered?" Kate didn't answer for a moment as she continued to cry. Slowly, but surely those sobs turned into quiet little sniffles as she felt Sam sit down beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, Katie," he cajoled her, "When was the last time you ate something? When was the last time that you slept? Have you even slept or have you just been trashing your room the entire time that you've been up here?" Kate looked up at her best friend with her red rimmed eyes, looking exhausted. Sam was now sure that she hadn't slept since the cops had informed of her husband's death and his thoughts were confirmed the moment that she answered.

"What day is it?"

"Oh, Katie," Sam sighed again, slowly pulling her to her feet at the same time that he stood up, "You, you have to take better care of yourself. It's not just you this time around-"

"Please, don't," Kate interrupted, "Please, don't remind me."

"I won't," Sam promised her, "But, you know I'm right. You have to take better care of yourself. Now, come on, let's go downstairs-"

"No," Kate interrupted with more strength than he had seen from her the moment that he had spotted her on the floor, "I can't go down there right now, not looking like this Sammy. Finn, Finn, he can't, he can't see me like th-"

"He already knows your upset, that you're sad," Sam explained to her gently, "But, he's having difficulty grasping the gravity of the situation. He was wondering where Noah was, when he was coming back, whether or not the three of you were still going to Nantucket this summer because Noah promised him that you were."

"Oh God," Kate gasped again, tears welling up in her eyes again, "My baby, he's probably so confused right now, oh God, I'm a failure as a mother-"

"You're not a failure," Sam argued, looking at her almost angrily, "You are grieving right now, and for the first time since Valentine's Day your senior year, you do not have Noah to turn to. You're scared right now. I get that, I was scared too. I had no idea what to say to either one of you and-and I was there with him and-"

"And I was glad to know that someone he loved like a brother was with him, Sammy," Kate told him, through her own tears as Sam's began falling as well, "Knowing that you were there with him when I couldn't be, when I didn't even know, I was so thankful that he didn't die alone, not like Finn. I-I'm just having a hard time right now. You're right, I am scared because I can't remember a time that he wasn't there. I can't remember a time when even though we were far from friends, I always had him to run to, I always had that shoulder to lean on. I don't know what I'm going to do without Noah. I don't know how I'm going to raise our son knowing that someone took his father away from him. I never thought I'd be a single mother or a widow and in one fail swoop, I'm both." Sam listen to Kate as she slowly went through everything she was feeling; what was running through her head and heart now that her entire life had been turned upside down.

"I can't sleep, I have no appetite," Kate continued, closing her eyes once more as she tried to stop the tears that were falling, "I can't even think about looking at my son because I know, I just know that all I'm going to see is Noah and all I'm going to think of is him and Finn and I have neither one of them in this situation. I can't turn to my big brother, I can't turn to the love of my life." Once more Kate descended into tears as her legs fell out from underneath her. Sam reached out to grab her before she hit the floor.

"I-I don't know what I'm going to do without him, Sammy," Kate sobbed into his shoulder, "I-I loved him with everything that I had and, and he's gone, he's just gone." Sam held the small brunette closed to him as she continued to cry. It was hard to see her like this. She was never like this. She was almost always the rock for everybody else.

"I'm going to get you something to eat, okay," he whispered to her as her sobs began to quiet once more, "I'll be right back with something small and while you eat it, I'm going to clean some of this up and make the bed. Then, I'm going to get Finn and the both of you are going to sleep for a little bit-"

"Sam-"

"Katie, you need to eat something, you need to sleep and most importantly, you need to see Finn," Sam finished for her, smiling at her as he walked backwards towards the door, "And Katie, I know you feel like you're alone right now, but you're not. You got me."

* * *

 **A/N: I know, I said that I was no longer going to be using this character anymore, but this story popped into my head and I'm not ashamed to say this, but I cried while writing it and as I edited it.**

 **For those of you looking for 'Your Future, My Past,' I'm still writing and working on the new chapter. It should be up by the end of the weekend.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **xo**


	2. A Widow's Lament

II: A Widow's Lament

 _To care for him  
who shall have borne the battle  
and for his widow and his orphan_

* * *

Walking down the narrow staircase once more Sam couldn't help, but look at Carole Hummel helplessly. He had no idea that Kate had taken the death of her husband this badly – the image of her broken and sobbing on her bedroom floor with the entire room practically destroyed around her seared freshly into his mind. He should have been here sooner; he should have come the moment that he, himself, was allowed to leave the hospital, but he couldn't, he just couldn't.

He had been the one to that took a hold of Noah's hand as the life in his best friend's body left as he took his last laboured breath. He had been the one that had been there beside his best friend as the dying man told him that there was no way both of them would be walking out of the car accident alive; that he knew he wasn't going to make it home to hold his son or to tell his wife that he loved her one last time. Sam had been the one there through all of it and he had stupidly thought that Kate wouldn't want to see him. That she wouldn't need him this time around.

It was clear to him now that Kate needed him more than anybody else in this world, let alone in this house.

"How is she," Carole asked him, as he made his way into the kitchen, "I-I haven't seen her since I walked into the house and saw her sobbing as she ran up the stairs. Is she-"

"She's broken," Sam answered honestly, tears too slipping down his cheeks as he spoke to her mother, "Kate, Kate wouldn't have survived losing Finn if it wasn't for Noah. She wouldn't have survived her career ending injury if it wasn't for him either. And she probably doesn't know how she's going to survive any of this without him." He didn't even want to mention the late son of the woman in front of him, but he knew his words rang true. Noah had been Kate's rock through many of the more turbulent times in her life, the most notable being the very early death of her older brother.

"She-she doesn't remember the last time she ate or the last time that she slept. I'm fairly sure she can't remember the last time she showered either," Sam continued, looking around the kitchen once again and for the first time seeing what looked to be two mugs sitting on the dish rack, cleaned, but not put away as if to remind the grieving woman upstairs of what she recently lost, "She knows she has Finn to worry about, but she-" Carole nodded her head as if to tell the young man in front of her that she knew what he was going to say.

"I want to help her so badly," Carole whispered, as a fresh wave of tears streamed down her face, "I'm her mother and I know what she's going through, but she just-" Sam waved his hand.

"She's not in the mood to see anybody," he sighed, "Don't take it personally Mrs. Hummel, she barely looked at me while I was in there. She just wants today, I guess, or at least that's what she said to me. She wants today to bury her head in hands and cry, then she wants to put on a brave face for Finn tomorrow and what comes after that, I don't know." Carole looked at him before nodding once more.

"You are such a good friend to her, Sam," Carole whispered, patting his cheek much like she had done to him many times before, "You took care of her all of those years ago."

"No," Sam argued feebly, "That was all Noah." Carole continued to look at him before she nodded her head and patted him on the cheek once more. Sam knew what she was referring to when it came to taking care of Kate, he had been one of the first people to remind her that it was okay to laugh, that it was okay to sing, to dance, to live her life even though her brother had lost his life, but in a way she was also wrong. It had been Noah that got her to laugh for the first time, to sing, to dance again. He had been the one to remind her life was precious and that she needed to live it. Noah had been the one to make sure Sam was next to her when he needed to drown his sorrows in a bottle of Jack Daniels. Noah had been the one to wait on her hand and foot when she was put on bed rest while pregnant with Finn, when she had been holed up inside the house after tearing her MCL, ACL and meniscus in her right knee effectively ending her dance career. Noah was the one that ALWAYS took care of her.

Running his hand through his hair, Sam set out to do what he initially had come downstairs to do. He needed to get his best friend something to eat; she would need her strength for tomorrow and for everyday afterward.

"Come on, Sammie," he whispered to himself, as he reached into the pantry and pulled out the sliced bread, "She's going to need you today, tomorrow and probably for the foreseeable future. She-she needs you now more than ever and here you are stuck in your own thoughts-"

"And talking to yourself," a new voice came from behind him, "Come on, Sammie, Finn is going to think his favourite uncle is crazy." Turning around Sam came face to face with Blaine.

"Blaine," he greeted, a small smile gracing his bruised face, "Where are Kurt and Vanessa?"

"Vanessa is currently sitting with Finn watching a movie and Kurt is-"

"Please tell me that he didn't go-"

"I SAID I WANTED TO BE ALONE, KURT," the voice of the widow upstairs rang through the house, allowing a hushed silence to fall upon the other people in residence, "I KNOW I HAVE A SON. I KNOW I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, BUT FORGIVE ME, I JUST LOST MY HUSBAND, MY BEST FRIEND, THE ABSOLUTE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND I NEED TIME TO PROCESS THE DEEPEST PARTS OF MY GRIEF BEFORE I HAVE HALF A MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSE HANDING ME CASSEROLE AFTER CASSEROLE AND GIVING ME AND MY SON LOOKS OF PITY! NOW, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as Blaine gave him a pained look.

Thinking quickly on his feet, Sam opened the freezer and took out a large tub of what looked to be chocolate ice cream with fudge and chunks of brownie mixed in along with two spoons from the drawer next to the stove. He needed to get back upstairs quickly before Kate once again retreated onto herself. He had just gotten her into a place where she accepted that she needed to eat, that she needed to close her eyes and get some rest before facing the reality that was surrounding her once more.

"Uncle Sam," a small voice said in the hallway as he made to climb the stairs once more, "Is my Mommy going to be okay?" Sam looked down at Finn and was at a loss for words. Here was a young boy that in a matter of forty-eight hours had his entire world flipped upside down by losing his father and his mother was upstairs so consumed in her own grief of losing her husband that she had yet to look at him in that same amount of time.

"Finn, I think your Mom is feeling really sad right now because she loved your Dad so much," Sam answered, getting down onto his knees so that he was eye level with the young boy, "And she's never had to be without him and she doesn't know how to be without him. Your Mom right now is feeling everything that she has to feel when it comes to losing your Dad because she wants to be strong for you tomorrow, but-"

"I want to see her," Finn interrupted him, "I want to see my Mommy."

"Okay, come on," Sam said, knowing that really no matter how much she wanted to be alone, Kate needed to see her son, that she needed to hold him, that she needed him in front of her to fully remind herself that even though she lost Noah, she still holds a very large part of him right here and right now.

"Do you really think," Blaine began to ask as Kurt made his way downstairs.

"I know my best friend, Blaine," Sam insisted, as he lifted Finn into his arms while still cradling the ice cream and the spoons, "Better than anybody and no matter how many times she says she wants to be left alone, I think the only person she really wants to see is Finn." Turning his back on his band mate, Sam climbed the stairs once more.

"Okay, Finn, you ready to see your Mom," Sam whispered to the young boy who now rested his head on his shoulder, "'Cause we're going to go in there and we're going to offer her favourite ice cream in the entire world and see if she's going to eat something, okay?"

"Why hasn't Mommy been eating," Finn asked his uncle, a worried expression crossing his young features.

"Grief is a funny thing little man," Sam tried to explain, "But, I'm going to take care of you and your Mom, okay, I'm going to make sure that the two of you eat when you need to eat and that you go to sleep on time. Now, come on, it's time that this tub of ice cream gets shared between a couple of my favourite Puckermans." Opening the door to the master bedroom, Sam came face to face with the grieving widow once more.

"Sam, I-" Kate began as Sam opened the door, but the words quickly died on her lips the moment that she saw her son, "Finny, baby, come here." The former dancer lifted her son out of her best friend's arms and held him close to her chest as the young boy descended into tears.

"I am so sorry," she whispered into his hairline, "I am so sorry Finny that I haven't been there for you, my sweet baby boy. Mommy just misses your Daddy so much and she just-" Kate paused as she came at a loss of how to explain to her own son that she had been selfish, that she had only cared about her own grief in losing the man that meant so much to not only her, but to the little boy that was now encased in her arms.

She couldn't believe that she had let her own grief consume her so completely that she not only left her son to be taken care of by his grandparents, but she left him at a time when he would need her most.

"Mommy," the little boy whispered through his own tears, "Does Daddy not love us anymore? Is that why he went to go be with Uncle Finn?" Kate looked Sam as she felt tears once again come to cloud her vision and she so desperately wanted to sob her heart out at the those words because they broke her heart all over again. She knew that Noah loved her and Finn more than anything else in the world, that he never would have left them like his father had left him and a young Ariella.

"No, my sweet boy," she answered, as she tried to keep her own tears from falling into his hair, "Daddy didn't want to leave us, he, he loved us, he loved you so much, but-"

"But, sometimes Finn, we need to leave the people that we love the most behind because we have no choice," Sam finished for her as he ran his fingers through the little boy's hair like he had seen Noah do many times before when Finn had been upset, "Sometimes, we need to leave those we love the most so that they-"

"So, that they can become stronger and to remind them that while bad things happen, good things can still happen as well," Kate finished with a whisper remembering the final lesson that her brother had taught her so many years ago, "Finn, it's okay to be sad right now, okay? Daddy wouldn't be mad if you were sad…"

"But, Daddy always told me to that I need to take care of you while he's gone…"

"Finn," Sam started, "Do you remember what I said when we were coming upstairs? I'm going to take care of you and your Mom, I promise, so if you want to be sad, it's okay for you to be sad."

"Yeah, baby, it's okay for you to be sad," Kate assured the little boy as well, "And you know what how about you and me sit up here and you cry as hard as you want to and no one downstairs will even know and then we'll eat some of that ice cream that your uncle Sam brought up here?" Finn looked down at his hands as tears clouded his vision and before either of them knew it, the little boy was sobbing his heart out.

"Thanks Sam, I actually really needed this, needed him," Kate whispered as tears slowly began to stream down her cheeks again, "I think we're going to be okay for the night. If you want to go home-"

"I'll take the couch," he told her, as he made to leave the mother-son duo alone for a little bit, "I said I would be here if you needed me and you both need me. Let me deal with everyone downstairs while the two of you take your time okay…"

"Thank you," she once again mouthed to him, as she lay down with her son tucked into her arms on the bed that Kurt had managed to put back together before she had thrown him out. Sam nodded, a comforting smile appearing on his face as he made to exit the room.

"Anytime Katie," he mouthed back. Closing the door behind him, Sam knew that he had won a small battle in the war that was ahead of him. He knew how Kate was. He had seen her in her darkest of moments much like Noah had. He had seen Kate while she had been grieving her brother and he saw how much it had almost broken her despite having those good moments.

"How is she," someone asked him as he came down the stairs once more.

"She's got Finn with her now," he answered, as he walked back into the kitchen to take stock of what they had in the house because as much as Kate had promised that her and Finn could eat the tub of ice cream after he finished crying, he knew that Kate would need something more to fill her stomach.

"She's concentrating on making sure that Finn knows it's okay to be sad," Sam explained, "She's making sure that he knows that he can cry, that he knows no matter what happened his Dad loved him, loved them both so much, that even though Noah's gone, he will always be with them." Someone behind him sobbed quietly, but part of him didn't care. His first and only concern at this point in time were the two people upstairs.

"Sam," he heard Blaine begin, "How are you doing? You were-"

"My only concern is for Kate and Finn right now, Blaine," Sam responded, his tone slightly biting towards the former Warbler, "They are the only people I need to care about right now. I don't need to think about my own grief when they-"

"You were in the car with him, Sam," Blaine interrupted, "You were the one with him when he died, Sam. He was your best friend as much as the woman upstairs is; your grief matters just as much as theirs does."

"No, it doesn't," Sam yelled back insistently, "They're the ones that matter. Kate, Finn, Anita and Ariella are the ones that need our support, that need us to be there for them and that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do what I need to do and what I need to do is put my grief aside and be the strength that Kate needs."

"You've always been her strength, Sam," Blaine argued back, "Sometimes that strength needs to break, and you're allowed to be as broken as they are."

"No, no I'm not," Sam whispered, as he fought back the tears that he had been holding in since he arrived, "Kate and Finn are going to need me going forward and I promised him that I would take care of them anyway that I could, so that's what I'm going to do."

"Why are you being so damn stubborn?"

"Why aren't you getting it," Sam asked, "Why don't you get it? I'm feeling what I need to feel, what will get me through these next few weeks, few months. I just lost my best friend and I'm doing what I need to do to help with my grief and that's helping his wife and son."

"You're in denial…"

"No, no I'm not," Sam sighed, "Noah is gone and someone has got to be the shoulder that his wife is going to need…"

"Why does it have to be you," Blaine asked, "Why do you need to be that shoulder? Why do you need to take care of her and Finn? They have Anita, Carole and Burt, Kurt and myself, Ariella, they have every single one of the Gleeks to help take care of them, hell I'm sure Will and Emma will even help take care of them. It doesn't have to be you that takes care of them."

"Yes, yes it does have to be me," Sam responded, "Because I made a promise that I would take care of them."

"Finn will understand if you have to break this promise."

"It wasn't Finn that I promised."

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, so it's been a minute since I've really done anything on this site. I've been fighting a major writer's block for the last year and a half and quite honestly, I'm not sure if this chapter was a fluke or if I finally broke through my block. Hopefully, there will be more to come not only with this, but for 'Your Future, My Past'.**

 **Who do you think Sam made that promise to? Let me know what you think.**

 **xo**


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